InternetNZ has released its ENUM “Personal User Agent” prototype source code under an Open Source BSD Licence to encourage developer support of an ENUM initiative in New Zealand. The PUA release does not include the "Universal Communications Identifier" Registry modules.

ENUM is an Internet protocol, mapping telephone numbers onto the Internet naming system. Existing email addresses, web sites and alternate telephone contact addresses can be attached to this ENUM record. This record can be used by suitable handsets or computer programs to contact the number holder.

ENUM is in government approved trial or production in approximately 30 countries.

"Personal User Agents” (PUA) are software programs which act like firewalls; automatically filtering requests for ENUM contact information and deciding what information to release and how incoming calls will be directed based on rules that look at the inbound identity of the caller. This protects the consumer from address harvesting or privacy breaches.

In theory every existing and future telephone number in the world could be ENUM provisioned. This provides a massive legacy base on which commercial PUA software can be built.

Following completion of an ENUM PUA UCI Feasibility Study at the beginning of 2005 the prototype was developed by Catalyst IT, of Wellington, for InternetNZ. The PUA prototype was linked to another module known as the “Universal Communications Identifier” (UCI) which can bind an individual’s name and service requirements to ENUM records and then be accessed by other PUAs.

Future ENUM PUA software will enable users to opt-in to security services that will restrict publication of contact (email etc) information to anonymous callers and will permit intelligent routing of calls based on the relationship of the receiver to the caller and possible cost optimization of call termination.

Co-operating with the Government, Telecommunication Carriers Forum and applications developers, InternetNZ will participate and facilitate a New Zealand ENUM Trial over the next year that will provide a platform to test, demonstrate, commercialize applications and integrate ENUM to deliver economic advantage to the New Zealand community.